Hand operated snapping toy



Jan. 14, 1958 c. R. DALEY 2,819,559

HAND OPERATED SNAPPING TOY Filed March 15, 1957 United States atetlt HAND OPERATED SNAPPING TUZZ Carl R. Daley, South Natick, Mass, assignor to Earrington Manufacturing Company, N eedham Heights, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application March 15, 1957, Serial No. 646,268

4 Claims. (Cl. 46-123) This invention relates to a novelty item and more particularly to an inexpensive hand-manipulated structure grotesquely simulating the facial motions of an animal, human or otherwise, depending upon its general shape and manner of decoration.

Such a device has utility as a premium item in consumer packages or, in some cases, it can be formed by the consumer from the material constituting the package or from package inserts, since such materials are many times of a character to be suitable for use in fab- Iicating the novelty items of this invention.

It is the main object of the invention to so shape and score a piece of sheet material of suitable flexibility and inherent resilience under tension in such manner that by a simple folding operation there is provided a manipulatable novelty for simulating the facial movements of an animal.

Normally, the outline of the item in its unfolded form is elongated and may be oval or generally diamondshaped. In its flat form, the sheet material, which can be of cardboard, bears two score lines along intersecting arcs of equal radii and enclosing a central panel which is elongated transversely of the device and providing two end flaps, originally in the plane of the central panel. However, upon folding the flaps into overlapping relation and bringing their ends into juxtaposition, the central portion enclosed between the score lines flexes into a concavely arcuate configuration. The further the flaps are moved towards one another the greater the flexing of the central portion until the ends contact each other.

By placing the extremities of the central flexing portion between the thumb and finger and increasing the flexure of the central portion by pressure, the extremities of the flaps are brought together and there is sufficient resilience in the material of the central panel to oppose its flexing so that the flaps open upon release of the pressure.

Intermittently applied pressure thus causes the novelty to simulate a chewing or biting action. If the flaps are provided with decoration simulating human or animal facial appearance, then the simulation is accentuated.

Typical embodiments of such a novelty item are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the item prior to folding;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the item after folding but before tension has been exerted on the central panel;

Fig. 3 is a similar end elevation after the central panel has been flexed, as illustrated in dotted lines in the plan view of Fig. 4;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 5--5 of Fig. 4;

2,819,559 Patented Jan. 14, 1958 ice Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the item shown in Fig. 1 after folding; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a different embodiment.

The item shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings is made of a piece of flexible resilient material, such as cardboard, of oval shape, which bears on one side scorings 10 and 12 along arcs of equal radii so that they intersect. Two semicircular cut-outs 20, 21 are adapted to be folded up to form eyes.

When the two flaps 14 and 16 are folded about the central portion 18 (which is enclosed within the score lines) the device takes the form shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 3 illustrates the flaps in a relative position induced by squeezing between the forefinger and thumb, as shown in Fig. 4, to flex the panel 18 from the full line position of Figs. 4 and 5 to the dotted line positions rendering it more .arcuate under tension. Upon release of pressure the central panel returns to the full line positions.

It will be understood that the score lines 10 and 12 do not need to meet at the edgesthey may be moved slightly apart from one another from their positions as shown in Fig. 1; nor need they be on arcs of identical radii. In fact, the scon'ngs may take any curved form within the limits of the flexibility of the material used.

Fig. 7 shows a dilferent embodiment simulating a horse instead of a frog. Decorations ditfer and the end flaps 14a and 16a have extensions simulating teeth.

I claim:

1. A hand-manipulatable novelty item comprising a flexible sheet material having an elongated outline and bearing two opposed transverse curved scorings defining therebetween a central transversely elongated resilient panel, said panel being of a size to fit between the thumb and finger of one hand of the operator end portions of said sheet material being foldable into overlapping relation about said respective scorings to flex said central panel into concavely arcuate configuration and said end panel edges being yieldingly movable towards each other upon transverse pressure being applied by the thumb and finger of the operators hand to the ends of said central panel to flex said central panel progressively into more arcuate configuration, and movable away from each other upon release of the pressure to said resilient central panel, such motion simulating the jaw action of an animal face.

2. A novelty item as claimed in claim 1, having facial elements struck up from one of said end portions.

3. A novelty item as claimed in claim 1 having teeth elements depending from at least one of said end portions.

4. A novelty item as claimed in claim 1, having decorations simulating facial characteristics on at least one of said end portions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 502,896 Vine Aug. 8, 1893 1,620,053 Arundel Mar. 8, 1927 2,680,935 Smart June 15, 1954 OTHER REFERENCES Fun With Paper Folding by Murray et 211., published 1928. PP. 50 and 94 cited. 

